Ronaldo: Brazil the favourites for World Cup 2014

Prediction: Napoli to win 4-0

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Spezia and Napoli will face each other in Serie A this coming weekend. The match between the Aquile and I Partenopei will be held at Stadio Alberto Picco and is scheduled to kick off at 11:30am UK time on Sunday.

Spezia

Spezia have done well in Serie A since winning promotion from Serie B. The Aquilotti ended up third in the 2019-20 Serie B campaign and won promotion via the playoffs. It was Spezia’s eighth successive season in the second division in Italian football. Spezia finished 15th in the Serie A table in 2020-21 and 16th in the standings in 2021-22. And it looks likely that they will end up in a similar position in the league table this time around.

Luca Gotti’s side are 17th in …

Gareth Bale will probably make his first appearance since returning to Tottenham when they face West Ham on Sunday.

Bale rejoined Spurs on a season-long loan in September, having left in 2013 for Real Madrid in a then world-record transfer.

A knee injury has so far kept Bale out of action and, though he gave a positive update on the forward s condition, manager Jose Mourinho would not definitively say if the Wales international will feature in the London derby.

Of course he wants to play. He wanted to play since the day he arrived but wasn t possible, Mourinho told a media conference.

I m not going to tell you if he s going to play or not. What I will tell you is that he s working very well. He s working the way he probably hasn t been able to do for s…

A goal and three assists from Italy international Domenico Berardi piled on the misery for Milan as Sassuolo thrashed the Rossoneri 5-2 at San Siro.

Sassuolo took an early two-goal lead thanks to goals from Gregoire Defrel and Davide Frattesi prior to Olivier Giroud pulling one back for the hosts.

Berardi made it 3-1 after just 30 minutes before Armand Lauriente s penalty and Matheus Henrique s effort in the second half handed Milan their second chastening loss in a week after their 4-0 humbling at Lazio on Tuesday.

Divock Origi scored a consolation for Stefano Pioli s side, who are now six games without a win heading into next weekend s Milan derby, including four in Serie A as their title defence continues to falter.

4 AC Milan have conceded at least 4 …

FIFA has been awarded with $201million as compensation for the criminal activities of former officials.

In 2015, world football s governing body was raided by Swiss authorities on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, with Sepp Blatter among over 40 officials charged.

On Tuesday, FIFA confirmed the Department of Justice had awarded a $201m compensation package to the FIFA Foundation. 

This sum – seized from the bank accounts of the officials who were prosecuted – covers the losses suffered by FIFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL as victims of decades of football corruption schemes .

FIFA confirmed the money will go into a newly formed World Football Remission Fund, established to help finance football-related projects.

I am delighte…

According to Sky in Italy, AC Milan have made contact with Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo over the possibility of a free transfer when his contract with the Premier League side expires at the end of the season. Given the situation, the 26-year-old is allowed to talk to clubs outside England since the start of this year.

Adarabioyo rose through the ranks at the Manchester City academy. He had loan spells with West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers, before making a permanent switch to Fulham for around £1.5 million in 2020. Since then, he s gone on to make a total of 119 appearances for the Cottagers in all competitions.

Fulham certainly won t be too pleased with the timing of this development. Their team needs to prepare for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifi…

Russell Martin is poised to become Southampton’s new head coach on a three-year deal.

The former Scotland international is expected to seal the move on Wednesday afternoon, the PA news agency understands.

He will join from Swansea as the Saints move quickly to prepare for life in the Championship.

Martin verbally agreed to take over at St Mary’s over the weekend but the clubs remained in discussions over compensation.

Martin guided Swansea to 10th in the Championship last season despite having a bottom-four budget and the youngest squad in the division.

He has been praised for his style and Southampton will be hoping the 37-year-old can guide them back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

They will finish bottom of the Premier L…

The career of a so-called wonderkid in football sounds straightforward – you get spotted early on by a big club, your precocious skills see you establish yourself in the first team and then go on to enjoy an illustrious career at the top.

But we all know that, in reality, it doesn t quite work like that. Each situation is nuanced and, for every Kylian Mbappe there is a Kaz Patafta.

Australia s captain during the Under-17 World Cup in 2005, Patafta will be the first to say expectations were high for him after landing a three-year contract with Benfica as a teenager.

And, for what it s worth, his potential was even given video game approval , Championship Manager 2007 ranking him similarly to Gareth Bale after he d trained with Guus Hiddink s pre-2006 World Cup s…

Kepa Arrizabalaga hopes to make his loan move to Real Madrid permanent.

The Spain international joined the LaLiga side on a season-long loan from Chelsea on Monday after number one Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.

Kepa, 28, hopes to make an impression at the Bernabeu and extend his stay.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)

“Will I stay after the loan? Hopefully,” Kepa said at his Real Madrid unveiling on Tuesday as reported by Marca.

“Today is the first day of my loan. We have time, we’ll see. Hopefully with my performance I can make that happen.”

Kepa joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018 and has made 168 appearances for the cl…

FIFA is investigating how celebrity chef Salt Bae gained undue access to Argentina s on-pitch celebrations after the World Cup final.

Salt Bae, the Turkish chef and social media presence whose real name is Nusret Gokce, posted several photos of himself with the World Cup trophy on social media after Sunday s game.

The chef, who owns a chain of luxury steakhouses and rose to fame through a series of viral internet videos in 2017, was also seen attempting to pose for a photo with Lionel Messi and several Argentina team-mates.

His presence in the immediate aftermath of the trophy presentation is now the subject of a FIFA investigation after attracting widespread criticism.

A widely reported statement from world football s governing body read: Following a rev…

Erik ten Hag wished his former Ajax striker Sebastien Haller well after Borussia Dortmund s new signing was forced to leave the club s pre-season training camp due to a testicular tumour.

Haller enjoyed a stellar season under Ten Hag s management of the Eredivisie giants in 2021-22, scoring 21 league goals and netting 11 times in eight Champions League games to earn a move to Bundesliga giants Dortmund.

But Haller stepped away from his new club s pre-season training camp in Switzerland on Monday after feeling unwell during a session, with subsequent tests revealing the tumour.

The Ivory Coast international told social media followers he was focused on his recovery on Tuesday as Dortmund pledged to offer an update on his condition when possible. 

Halle…